US2105795A

US2105795A - Container conveying apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2105795A
Application number: US121928A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ivan H Risser
Original assignee: U S BOTTLERS MACHINERY CO
Current assignee: U S BOTTLERS MACHINERY CO
Priority date: 1937-01-23
Filing date: 1937-01-23
Publication date: 1938-01-18
Anticipated expiration: 1955-01-18

Description

l. H. Rlssl-:R

CONTAINER CONVEYING APPARATUS Jan. A18, 193s.

Filed Jan; 23, 1937 /I/ENTOR /m/V ,1e/555k Cil Patented Jan. 18, 1938 PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER CONVEYING APPARATUS Ivan H. Risser,

Chicago, Ill., assignor to U. S.

Bottlers Machinery C0., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application January 23, 19-37, Serial No. 12:1,9-28

4 Claims.

This invention relates to container conveying apparatus, and more particularly pertains to such apparatus in connection with means for treating bottles, such as bottle cleaning or washing machines.

Generally, the invention aims to provide improved bottle positioning or holding means for such apparatus, wherein the possibility of breaking or otherwise damaging the bottles as they are fed to the apparatus, or carried thereby, or discharged therefrom, is greatly eliminated.

More particularly, the object is to provide the simplest and most inexpensive bottle positioning or holding means for intermittently driven bottle conveyors adapted to intermittently advance the bottles through the machine in inverted position, whereby the bottles will be resiliently held in such position on the conveyor by their necks without the possibility of the bottles breaking at the base of their neck portions by motion imparted thereto upon said movement of the conveyor.

One of the advantages attained by the invention, is that frail bottles, such as those with long thin necks, may be intermittently advanced through the machine more rapidly than heretofore made possible so that treatment of the bottles will be expedited.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent by reference to the specification and the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary side view of a bottle washing machine, showing one form of the invention applied thereto, with parts broken away and parts in section to more clearly disclose certain parts otherwise hidden.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail plan section of Fig. 1, as may be taken substantially on the section line 2-2 of said figure, with certain elements being omitted. Y

Fig. y3 is a detail section taken the section line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section taken substantially on the section line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. l, 2 and 3, the Washing machine, generally illustrated for the purpose of this application, includes an endless bottle conveyor comprising a series of interconnected carrier members or cleats 2, in the form of channel pieces, mounted at their ends upon links 3 of laterally spaced endless sprocket chains 4 which are arranged to travel in upper and lower horizontal stretches by being trained over drive sprockets 5, respectively, at the right hand end of the stretches, and supported over upper and substantially on lower idler sprockets 6 and 'l at the left hand end of the stretches, as seen in Fig. 1. The drive sprockets 5 are secured on a drive shaft 8 which is driven to intermittently advance the conveyor, so that the cleats 2 are moved from left to right when in the upper stretch of the conveyor, by means of a rotating power shaft 9 on which is an eccentric device l0, arranged to operate, through a connecting rod II, an oscillating lever l2 fulcrumed on the drive shaft 8 and having a weighted pawl I4 for operating a ratchet wheel l5 fixed on the drive shaft 8.

Each cleat is provided with a row of bottle receivers I6 for receiving and supporting a row of bottles in inverted position upon the upper stretch of the conveyor, and, as the cleats are about to be advanced into the upper stretch of the conveyor, the receivers thereon are brought into cooperative relation with a bottle feeder head Il arranged to automatically feed a row of bottles thereto. Then as the transverse rows of bottles are intermittently advanced on the conveyor they are brought into cooperative relation, successively, over two liquid cleaner heads I3 and I9 which direct jets of water into the bottles to clean same.

The cleaner heads are of common construction, comprising two laterally spaced pipes carrying water under pressure, and with each pipe having a row of upright nozzles 2li for directing the jets of Water into the bottles.

After passing over the cleaner heads the bottles are caused to remain on the conveyor a sufficient length of time in order that they may be properly drained before being discharged or otherwise removed from the conveyor.

Although the feeder head is of ordinary construction, it may be stated that it comprises a shelf inclined downward toward the receiving end of the conveyor, and having a. series of laterally spaced troughs 2l within which the bottles are placed in reclining position with their necks pointing downward in register with a row of receivers I6 of a cleat, between each advance of the conveyor. Between the shelf and conveyor is a gate 22 for retaining the bottles in the troughs of the shelf while the conveyor is in motion, and being operably connected with the conveyor to be lowered so as to effect release of the bottles by force of gravity to the receivers i6 when the conveyor is at rest. The gate comprises an elongated arcuate segment having each end secured to an oscillating bell-crank 23 which is operated, to raise and lower the gate as stated,

2 c by the power shaft 9 on which is a suitably formed cam 24 operating a lever 25 which is connected by a link 26 with a bell-crank 21 arranged to operate the bell-crank 23 through a link 28.

In accordance with the main object of the invention, the bottle receivers IB are formed and arranged to resiliently hold the bottles in position on the cleats of the conveyor by their necks. To this end, each receiver comprises an open-ended pocket in the form of a tubular section of slightly resilient material, such as slightly resilient rubber, which is adapted to snugly receive the neck portion 29 of a bottle, and having its receiving end tapered or countersunk, asl at 3B, providing a seat for supporting the shoulder portion 3| of the bottle adjacent its neck. Each pocket is mounted on its conveyor cleat by having a flat lateral mounting flange 32 integrally formed therewith about its seat-end, with the ange being secured on the top side of the cleat by bolts 33, with the cleat having an aperture 34 through which the pocket projects so as to be normally in coaxial alignment with a cleaner nozzle when advanced into position thereover. The flange is thicker than the side-walls of the tubular portion forming the pocket so that the pocket will be capable of flexing in a swivel-like manner with respect to the flange, to absorb vibratory action of the bottle therein during normal operating conditions of the machine, without changing the normal position of the seat of the pocket. A bottle supported in a pocket will then be capable of slightly oscillating or swiveling therewith by force of initial movement or momentum imparted to the body portion of the bottle as same is'intermittently advanced with the conveyor, and whereby during such vibratory action of the bottle when advanced into position over a cleaner nozzle the base portion 35 of its neck will remain substantially centrally 1ocated over the nozzle, to insureproper entry of the jet of water from the nozzle into the body'portion of the bottle.

The bolts 33 are receivedin apertures, or bolt holes, in the flange of each pocket, which holes are arranged at a considerable distance from the pocket, whereby the inner portion of the 4flange adjacent the pocket will be capable of flexing on the cleat with the vpocket in the event same has been tilted beyond the angle it ordinarily assumes with respect to the cleat, during normal vibratory action of the bottle in the pocket, as may be caused by the bottle being bumped accidentally by an attendant.

Thus the resilient pockets will gradually arrest any vibratory action imparted tothe bottles by intermittent movement of the conveyor, whereby any bending strain effected at the base of the necks of the bottles will be greatly minimized-and whereby the possibility of the'bottles breakingat their necks will be practically eliminated.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a bottle conveyor, of a bottle receiving pocket therefor comprising a tubular portion of rubber adapted to receive the neck portion of a bottle and having an integral flat mounting flange formed about its receiving end, the side-walls of the pocket being thinner than the flange whereby the pocket will be capable of a swivel-like action with respect to said flange, and the flange having its outer portion secured to the conveyor whereby the inner portion of the flange adjacent the pocket will be capable of flexing with respect to the conveyor when the pocket has been flexed or tilted beyond a certain angle with respect to said inner portion of the flange.

2. The combination with a bottle conveyor, of a bottle receiving pocket therefor comprising a y tubular portion of rubber adapted to receive the neck of a bottle and having an integral flat mounting flange formed about one end thereof, the flange being thicker than the side-wall of the pocket whereby the pocket will be capable of a swivel-like action with respect to said flange, and the flange having its outer portion xedly secured to the conveyor whereby the innerportion of the flange adjacent the pocket will be capable of flexing with the pocket with respect to the conveyor when the pocket has been flexed beyond a certain angle with respect to said inner portion of the flange.

3. The combination with a bottle conveyor, of a-bottle receiving pocket therefor comprising a tubular portion of rubber adapted to snugly receive the neck of a bottle, with one end of said tubular portion being countersunk to provide a seat for the shoulder of the bottle adjacentits neck, and said tubular portion having a flat lateral mounting flange formed integral therewith in the plane of its seat, said flange being thicker than the side-walls of the pocket to permit the pocket to tilt in a swivel-like manner with respect to the flange and seat, and said flange having its outer portion secured to the conveyor whereby the inner portion of the flange adjacent the pocket will be capable of flexing on the conveyor with the pocket when same has been tilted beyond a certain angle on the inner portion of the flange.

4. A bottle receiving pocket for bottle conveyors comprising a tubular portion of rubber adapted to snugly receive the neck of a bottle with one end of'the said portion being countersunk to provide a seat for the shoulder of the bottle adjacent its neck, and said tubular portion having a flat lateral mounting flange formed integral therewith in the plane of its seat, said flange being thicker than the Vside-walls of the pocket whereby the pocket will be capable of flexing in a swivel-like manner with respect to the flange and seat.

IVAN H. RISSER.